How A Naked Helicopter Flight Over London Helped Confidence Man Crack A UK Top 10

The call from London, the home base for Confidence Man these last two years, came through just as the band were going onstage at Adelaide’s The Gov.

Early figures were suggesting that their third album 3AM (La La La) would enter the UK charts at #9 or #13. The call was to confirm a #9 debut, making them the latest Aussie act to go Top 10.

Naturally, after backstage hugs and cheers, Confidence Man wasted no time in sharing the news with the crowd at The Gov. “Thank you for the support. It’s great to be home. We just found out our record went Top 10 in the UK.”

But there was little time for celebrations. Janet Planet and Sugar Bones had an early morning flight to Sydney for a sell-out at The Enmore that night.

They’re now back in the UK on tour, with sell-outs in London, Manchester and Glasgow. 

The album’s success has started calls for collaboration from other EDM acts, and is set to enlarge their Spotify following from its current monthly million.

All My People, a reworking with French house producer/DJ Sweely of their Tilt track Toy Boy, is getting traction on TikTok, YouTube and SoundCloud. Already 2025 is looking busy, with tours through Europe and the United States. 

Their Australian manager, Johann Ponniah of I OH YOU, tells TheMusic.com.au that in Confidence Man’s world, chart success is a bonus but not a priority.

“To them, it’s about making great records and great videos in a creative way, and if we do that correctly, we’ll bring more people into the project, and the charts will follow after that.”

The album’s set-up included a number of singles as I Can't Lose You, So What, Control/Real Move Touch, Sicko and So Tru.

Helicopter Ride

But it would be fair to say it was I Can't Lose You which caused the biggest stir, its freeze-frame capturing of 2024 EDM culture promising a great album.

Even more of a rap-a-taste was the accompanying video, which depicted the duo flying naked over London in an open-door helicopter thousands of feet above Docklands.

The idea was Planet’s. She remembered a 1980s photo of a model flying over New York City and thought going the full monty would add to Confidence Man’s irreverent reputation.

“I didn’t think I’d be scared, but it was genuinely terrifying,” she told Time Out. Asked if the shoot had been awkward, getting strapped up in hidden harnesses and sharing the veering helicopter with a camera crew, the singer replied deadpan,  “Well, the pilot seemed pretty over it. He’d just done Mission: Impossible, I think.”

Moving to London two years ago was a turning point for Confidence Man. Ponniah notes, “In Australia, Confidence Man were probably viewed more as indie-pop. 

“But in the UK, people understood the references, the Orbitals, and the Underworlds. Living in the UK gives you so many more opportunities that you could take advantage of, and more quickly.”

Setting up in the area of Dalston in East London, and with their producer Goodchild as flatmate, Planet and Bones immersed themselves in London’s dance, queer and warehouse culture and worked with the right people.

These included collaborators such as Daniel Avery (On & On (Again)), DJ Seinfeld (Now U Do), DJ Boring (Forever 2 Crush Mix) and the remix album Confidence Man Club Classics Vol 1, which dug deeper DMCs with raveheads.

The live shows—with DJs Reggie Goodchild and Clarence McGuffin—underlined the sheer hedonism of dance culture, with numerous costume changes, lit-up breasts, and self-developed dance moves incorporating kung fu and swing.

Focussed on developing their craft, they took swing dance lessons for 12 months and tips from one of Beyoncé’s choreographers—the latter, they admit, was a bit of a disaster.

Planet wanted to make pop “over the top and ridiculous again. We wanted to revisit those sounds and then add pop hooks and vocals to them. I feel like that hasn’t really been done before, besides The Prodigy.”

Planet and Bones had the personalities that drew dance crowds in by making their shows joyful and immersive and who were further tantalised by their Australian cheekiness. Kylie Minogue and Noel Gallagher sang their praises.

Bones on triple j: "We're always satisfied if we get equal amounts of outrage and love.”

Planet: "Yeah, that means you're doing your job right.”

Suitably Cooked

The title 3AM came from the fact they’d go raving until 1 am and, suitably cooked, they’d head for Pony Studios in East London. 

They found the best work was done at 3 am,  which would keep them going until 9 am, after which they’d head off to sleep for a few hours before brunch at one of the local cafes.

Every song was written and made when Planet, Bones and Goodchild were, as they say, “suitably wrecked”. 

They don’t suggest you get the best out of the record if you listen to it at 3 am when it makes more sense. But they did insist that their interview with Mixmag be conducted at 3 am.

Ponniah is at pains to stress that Confidence Man is no overnight success story. Their rise started in Brisbane, when their original manager, Stu McCulloch of Amplifire Music, built them up through dynamic sets at festivals such as Meredith Music Festival and Golden Plains.

The UK label Heavenly Recordings (Saint Etienne, Kneecap), which released their first two albums, Confident Music For Confident People and Tilt, was instrumental in getting them to move to the UK after noticing that the Brits were “getting” Confidence Man better than their home market.

“They all played a key role in setting a platform for the band,” Ponniah notes.

Aside from Ponniah as their label and co-manager for Australia and New Zealand, Confidence Man’s current business setup also includes management by Iain Watt & Attention Management (whose roster includes Barry Can’t Swim and Eliza Rose) for the rest of the world. 

Their overseas label is Chaos/Polydor. Jos Watkins and Jack Duckworth handle A&R duties, and Silas Howison-Waughray, Oliver Hunter, and Louis Danckwerts handle label/marketing.

A key feature of the campaign behind 3 AM was their live shows and particularly festivals, “because they’re such a great festival act.” In the 12 months to the album’s release, they played to an estimated 50,000 through the UK and Europe.

Glastonbury Turning Point

Glastonbury has been a turning point twice. Two years ago, they played its Park Stage with a whacky, irresistible set that subsequently got them playlisted on Radio One.

This June, they played Glasto four times over the weekend, with an ambitious new set directed by Madonna’s lighting and production director, Rob Sinclair. Their appearance on the Other Stage drew 70,000 punters, one of the biggest crowds during the 2024 event.

Ponniah recalls, “The crowd was really waiting for them. It was surreal.”

They’ve been building up in North America as well. In December 2023, they did select shows in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto and New York City.

In September/October, just before the Australian run, they did dates with Sofi Tukker, an EDM duo with a similar creative free spirit, whose third album BREAD (an acronym for Be Really Energetic and Dance) was the best Confidence Man record title not used by Confidence Man.

In March, they do 12 shows there. “America has the potential to be a great market for Confidence Man,” Ponniah says.